'groceries' on Serious Eats

More Shopping Guides Thai Ingredients » Mexican Ingredients » Italian Ingredients » Chinese Ingredients » Where to buy _______ » Rounding up Indian ingredients in New York City has been my biggest challenge yet. The difficulties hit right from... More

Photos: Ava McAlpin and Robyn Lee For those who understand the language and the ingredients, Chinese groceries, in Chinatown and elsewhere in New York City, offer incredible variety and value. For those without this familiarity, however, such stores can... More

[Photograph: Design*Sponge] Artist Kate Pruitt of Design*Sponge shares instructions for how to make your own grocery planner featuring a clipboard, magnetic pen/receipt box, and customizable shopping list and menu templates for you to print out. It sure beats my method of writing on a Post-It. [via Lifehacker]... More

Still thinking about Turkey Day? Tomorrow is the last day to get your Thanksgiving on at the Union Square Greenmarket. If you're looking to buy a turkey, pick up some prepared sides, or otherwise shop for Thanksgiving dinner in New... More

[Photographs: Brian Yarvin] Every time I heard an excited comment about the Alpine Deli, somebody was bound to ask what other store could compare with it. The problem, though, is that there are two unrelated shops called the “Alpine... More

Photograph from Jeremy Bautista on Flickr Shopping at the Asian grocery chain H-Mart might be like a frenzied afternoon at Marshalls—piles of Fuyu persimmons, jars of kimchi, and stacks of slimy fish all compete for space—but the prices put Whole Foods to shame. Granted, you won't always know where your food came from (probably somewhere in Asia) but the products are diverse, inspiring, and recession-friendly. That's why D.C.-area chefs like Michel Richard of Citronelle and Central are flocking to H Mart and Super H Mart, according to Melissa McCart in the Washington Post. She notes that at a conventional grocery store, shoppers might find one or two brands of condiments, but at H-Mart, the variety is comparable "to the... More

With budgets tightening across all economic strata in this country, many families are selectively bypassing organics to save money, according to the New York Times' Andrew Martin. The question that I find even more pressing is whether people are going to stop shopping at farmers' markets across the country, which are generally more expensive than both conventional and organic supermarkets. What are serious eaters everywhere doing to save money? Are organically and/or locally grown produce still important to you? As Martin put it, are consumers going to decide they can no longer afford to let their conscience dictate their shopping list? I for one will not stop supporting my local farmers. I have always felt that local and sustainable... More

Photograph from Consumerist At the grocery store, the purchasing power of our dollars isn't the only thing that's shrinking. Manufacturers are quietly downsizing the quantities in packaged food, often while holding prices steady, all in response to the rise in commodity and fuel costs. A few examples: Kellogg's cereals have an average of 2.4 fewer ounces per boxTropicana orange juice containers decreased from 96 ounces to 89 ouncesWrigley's 17-stick PlenTPak has been replaced by the 15-stick Slim PackSpreads (butter, mayo) and ice cream containers have decreased in size overall The story, in Time magazine, says that people are more sensitive to price than they are quantity, which explains why manufacturers are trying to slip the changes by us. "Most... More

If I didn't tell you these colorful, beautiful bags were meant to carry your groceries, would you ever think it? Designed in Australia (and made in China), the Envirosax are meant to replace the 500 or so plastic bags that each one of us uses once and then throws away every year. $33 for a set of five bags, each of which is lightweight but strong enough to carry the contents of two supermarket shopping bags, and they roll up into a pouch you can keep in your glove compartment. I buy groceries in small amounts but frequently, like a good New Yorker, so maybe I'll buy a set, keep two bags rolled up in the bottom of my... More